Your favourite bar’s favourite bar: Thugshop DJ Sheryl Sho on Singapore’s underground scene

SINGAPORE – Even as Singapore’s bars and clubs face challenging times, the country’s underground music collectives are finding their rhythm.

For deejay Sheryl Sho, 27, this underground scene is both playground and workplace.

As resident DJ at Thugshop, a home-grown nightlife and music collective, she can often be found behind the decks at Headquarters in Boat Quay, spinning everything from pulsing techno and house to funk and disco.

Headquarters is one of four venues operated by Thugshop. The others include Tuff Club in Robinson Road, which offers more melodic sounds, and MDLR (pronounced “modular”), a nightlife venue in Cecil Street which serves as an event space for the group’s larger pop-up parties.

“I was first drawn to Thugshop as a partygoer,” says Sho. “It’s just a place to be. You can come here and be yourself. You don’t have to dress up, you don’t have to impress anyone. You can come with friends or alone, not talk to anyone and just listen to the music.”

Before joining Thugshop in 2025, Sho cut her teeth playing for Last Saturdays, another local music collective, in 2023. By day, she is one half of the creative studio Pattern Disrupt.

While the late nights take their toll – she says not getting enough sleep is one of the job’s bugbears – the rewards make it worthwhile.

“What I like most is seeing people with big smiles and enjoying themselves on the dance floor. I think nothing brings more joy to being a DJ than this.”

For newcomers to the scene, Sho recommends starting at Headquarters.

Hidden behind a discreet shophouse entrance, it is one of Singapore’s main alternative and underground music venues. While its lower floor features techno music amid pulsing red lights, its upper floor has a more easygoing vibe and opens up to an outdoor patio looking out at the Singapore skyline.

Thugshop was early to the underground scene, having launched Headquarters in 2016. The collective has organised more than 600 events to date.

However, Sho says the city is now seeing an influx of new collectives and pop-up events. For Singaporeans seeking alternatives to commercial hits and corporate venues, the options have never been more diverse.

These raves and pop-up events are organised by groups posting about their next party on channels such as Instagram and Telegram. Many of these events have no fixed venue.

In her view, the appeal of Singapore’s underground scene has less to do with the music and more to do with the unpretentiousness of the crowd.

With that in mind, The Straits Times asked Sho to recommend the city’s best underground spaces and music collectives.

What would you recommend for someone new to Singapore’s underground scene?

It is a balance between doing some research on what the gig is about and keeping an open mind. Music publication Life in Arpeggio (

@lifeinarpeggio

), run by Kevin Ho, covers most of the music events in Singapore. It was my go-to read when I started checking out Singapore’s music and underground scene.

If you want to get a sense of the local music scene, check out Shutter Rhythms (

@shutter.rhythms

) and Lagoon Laundry (

@lagoonlaundrykatong

). They make recordings and post them online, so you do not even have to leave your house to enjoy great music.

I highly recommend Fomohomo (

@fomohomo.sg

), an inclusive event collective that organises pop-up events and themed parties. Its parties have a lot of good energy. There is a lot of booty-bouncing, and it is a safe space for the queer community and allies.

What would you recommend to someone bored with Singapore’s nightlife?

My first recommendation is the Sunda Festival (

@sunda.festival

) in April, which will be held at Sarimbun Scout Camp in north-west Singapore. It is a great break from the cityscape. When I was last there, it felt like I wasn’t in Singapore.

You get very wholesome activities for all ages, you get great music. The line-up is stacked. It is a feast for the ears, the mind and the eyes.

My second recommendation is Wild Pearl (

@wildpearlstudio

), which does some really cool initiatives like cargo bike rides. Essentially, you get a roving DJ on a bike and you cycle along with him or her in the Marina Bay Sands area.

It also does this thing called Immersion, which happens before work, where you do a cold plunge with a DJ and then get breakfast.

Singapore has quite a few day-centric party collectives. Check out 5210PM (

@fivetotenpm

) and Last Saturdays (

@lastsaturdays_sg

). They end early, so you get good music without having to sacrifice sleep.

Where do you go for no-frills fun?

When I’m going out with no plans, I go to Santai in East Coast Road. It has three to four DJs a week in its line-up. It is just very chill and the vibes are great. You can knock back drinks with your friends. You won’t break the bank there, but the drinks are good quality and there’s always good music going around.

If I am in the city centre, I go to Naga House in Lorong Telok. It is another easy-going place that is a no-brainer with good music.

What is your go-to venue for a special occasion?

I am not a fan of stuffy places where you have to pretend to be proper. That is why I’d recommend Offtrack in North Canal Road. 

Everything is curated, from the interiors to the food to the music. It has great DJs and it is just a beautiful space. You really have to be there to experience Offtrack as a whole. 

What is your top recommendation from Singapore’s underground scene?

The Strange Weather collective (

@strangeweatherallday

). I really enjoy its whole set-up. All of its parties that I have been to, I just leave feeling inspired. With its music, it really pushes the boundaries of what would normally fit an underground club sound.

I feel like its pop-up events have been really well executed. It hops between venues, so you can keep a lookout on Instagram for where it will be playing next.